The Foreign Service Journal, January 2011

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 13 India’s state-owned military and re- search firms, the Indian Space and Re- search Organization (India’s NASA) and the Defence Research and Devel- opment Organisation, opening the door for trade in dual-use and strategically sensitive materials and technologies. Also significant was the announce- ment of Washington’s intention to sup- port India’s membership in four multi- lateral export control regimes: the Nu- clear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group, theMissile Technology Control Regime and the Wassenaar Arrange- ment. In addition, a memorandum of understanding was signed providing for cooperation on India’s Global Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership, which New Delhi had announced during the April 2010 Global Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. These measures serve to solidify the Obama administration’s commitment to the landmark U.S.-India CivilianNu- clear Agreement concluded by the Bush administration. So far, U.S. in- dustry’s participation in the nuclear power boom gathering momentum in India has been stymied by the Indian parliament’s adoption of highly restric- tive liability legislation. This demon- stration of Washington’s sincerity may help facilitate some rethinking by In- dian lawmakers. Pres. Obama and Prime Minister Singh also announced a major new ini- tiative in agricultural development call- ed “A Partnership for an Evergreen Revolution” — a sequel to India’s “Green Revolution” of the 1960s that was critically assisted by the U.S. Expansion of economic ties was a major focus of the visit. In New Delhi, the president addressed a U.S.-India business conference where the CEOs of Boeing and General Electric, among others, announced roughly $15 billion in commercial sales to India that had been negotiated in advance and would support some 57,000 American jobs. Obama pointedly distanced himself from the rallying cry in some parts of the U.S. against “outsourcing,” and sought to underscore the mutual eco- nomic potential of the relationship. Though not particularly in the spot- light during this visit, security coopera- tion is another dynamic element of the Indo-U.S. relationship. The U.S. mili- tary conducts more joint exercises with India than with any other country and, since 2008, American business has con- cluded some $4 billion in military sales to the country. Consultations with India on developments in Afghanistan, Central Asia and the Far East and other international issues are ongoing. Notwithstanding some commenta- tors’ view that Washington’s pursuit of India is to counter China, the evidence suggests that the policy is more sophis- ticated. The Obama administration ap- pears to grasp the reality that zero-sum calculations have little place in a multi- polar world. For detailed information on the visit, see the Singh-Obama Joint Statement ( www.whitehouse.gov ) and the “trip readout” by USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and Assistant Secretary Blake ( www.state.gov ) . For back- ground on the India-U.S. relationship, see the “U.S.-India Partnership Fact Sheets” ( www.whitehouse.gov ) . The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ( www.carnegieendowment. org ), the Center for Strategic and In- ternational Studies’ South Asia Program ( www.csis.org ) and the Brookings In- stitution ( www.brookings.edu ) offer background and commentary on cur- rent developments. ■ — Susan Brady Maitra, Senior Editor C Y B E R N O T E S